Blaxploitation by Zachariah Ezer

[One-Act Play] At a midnight movie screening, a trans director exhibits their lost classic, in which a martial arts master and a genie go back in time to try and prevent slavery and a zombie apocalypse before an operative from the end of history stops them.
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

Blaxploitation

Recommended by

  • The New Cosmopolitans :
    18 Aug. 2022
    “ Zachariah Ezer has crafted the ultimate blaxploitation film ... ONSTAGE ... as a vehicle for exploring the tenets of Afropessimism. Ezer frames the film with the story of a pioneering trans filmmaker who has yet to receive their due. We were honored to produce a virtual reading of 'Blaxploitation' as part of our New Queer Works series in Fall 2020, and we hope to see this fast-paced, thought-provoking queer piece on stage soon. ”

Character Information

Tara and the Newscaster can be prerecorded, but they may also be one or two actors.

  • Jefferson Stone
    30s,
    African American/Black
    ,
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Lucy
    40s,
    African American/Black
    ,
    Female
    (Also plays House Manager, Patient Zero, The First One, and Lucy Smith)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Old Nigga
    Old,
    African American/Black
    ,
    Non-binary
    (Also plays Roxie Spectacular and a Cultist)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Non-binary
  • The Terror
    Any Age,
    White
    ,
    Any (but probably Male)
    (Plays a Zombie, a Doctor, a Slaver, John Greenwood, and an Usher)
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Tara/Newscaster
    Any Age,
    Any
    ,
    Any (but probably Female)
    May be prerecorded
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    KCACTF Region 6 Festival
    ,
    2023
  • Reading
    ,
    Southern California Queer Theater Collective
    ,
    2020
  • Workshop
    ,
    The Lark
    ,
    2019

Awards

Selection
,
Issue 4: Outbreak
,
some scripts literary magazine
,
2021